by Niv Kaplan
He knew the matter should have been taken up by proper government agencies, and not by some amateur voluntary group with a bunch of mercenaries, but he could not overlook Sam’s track record. None of the expert government agencies had been close to flushing out such an astounding scheme. How had it eluded his agency and others for so long? True, this was found out by pure chance, but if it had not been for the group’s amateur perseverance, this plot would have gone on for a very long time.
There were other reasons that caused him to eventually proceed in the manner that he did.
Assets in Lebanon were scarce and most of them were at the end of their rope. He could use only a few existing assets and new ones were hard to come by at such short notice. They had to be found, trained, and tested before they were deemed suitable and even then there was always a risk. Sam’s people, though not formally or professionally trained, were experienced and most important, had no links to any of the well-known secret service agencies around the world. They could be used once, and only once, but that’s all that was needed. Once they found the source, the government agencies would come down hard on the entire network globally.
Several meetings took place following the brief at the Dan Tel Aviv, involving agencies from the US, Britain, and Israel.
The matter had explosive written all over it.
The State Department was ready to begin taking precautions. Immigration and customs personnel were to be on the lookout for American passport holders arriving from the Middle East and airline companies were to be directed to report any small children boarding planes with no proper family escort. Children under three would be allowed to board if, and only if, a genuine family member was escorting them. Security organizations would begin to investigate records of missing children from years past and surveillance would be set up on government people who had spent much time abroad in their youth.
It was a bone of contention with those who thought these precautions would alert the terrorists and cause them to alter their ways. A strong argument was made to leave things be until the source had been found and then hit them globally.
“Panic would play into their hands,” several argued adding that it would then be impossible to apprehend any existing moles that were already in the system.
One British intelligence representative thought an all-out raid on Beirut was in order. Except no one knew who to raid and where.
The consensus was that this information should be kept under wraps for as long as possible until a link was found into who was running it and from where. Sons of Jihad were obviously operating under a larger, more structured organization who supported them, funded them, and gave them room to operate. And if, indeed, this operation came from inside Lebanon, Lebanese government officials had to be involved.
Now the question became how to find this link.
The Israelis were obviously the best equipped. They were the neighboring country, they had the best contacts and knowledge of the area and the understanding of the enemy’s methods of operation. The Israelis had a long history of using collaborators and agents inside Lebanon as well as a successful record of raids performed inside that country. But the Israelis were stretched thin on manpower and assets, having to perform so many operations simultaneously.
The American and British intelligence agencies were not much better off in terms of manpower so Kessler argued that using Sam’s outfit could offset some of the manpower pressures. He thought they had proven to be extremely resourceful and that it was a unique situation where an experienced outfit, one that was personally involved, could be employed and take some of the load off.
Also, it was not uncommon for intelligence agencies to use contracted outfits to perform such operations, especially in conflict areas where it was difficult for agents to penetrate and go unnoticed for long periods. Harley’s unit had been used in such a manner in Ireland and Bosnia, though no one would admit to it, including Harley’s people themselves.
Kessler’s superiors were reluctant to employ an amateur outfit without a proven record, but when he gave them an overview of the Center’s activities in past years, including their hunt for little Sammy’s abductors, the objections were greatly reduced.
The British were in agreement since they had faith in their ex SAS people, so it was left to the Americans to give a final nod.
Since the main potential victims of the scheme were the Americans, all were in agreement that it was essential to distance American involvement in the uncovering of the plot for as long as possible, so as not to allow the true objective to be uncovered, hence the use of foreign assets such as British and Israeli. But the plan could not fail and therefore the Americans wanted control, which they could not have with British and Israeli operatives doing the job.
It was finally decided that three officers, one from each country, would run the operation together from Tel Aviv with veto privilege and final say given to the American. So, in effect, the American was in charge, but the assets were Israeli and British which gave the two others significant pull.
It was no surprise David Kessler was chosen as the Israeli officer. Group Captain Harry Fleming was the British liaison. His forte was flying Tornados, but had joined British intelligence after he ejected from a jet with a failed landing gear and hurt his back. He had been handling agents in the Middle East for the past seven years with notable success. The American liaison was Colonel Doug Collins, ex-Green Beret who ran operations for the CIA in Saudi Arabia.
Collins was an outspoken man who did not keep things bottled up and let everyone know what he thought. He did not like the arrangement but went along with it for lack of a better plan. He had respect for the Israeli secret services, but was experienced enough to know that covert government agencies did not like to share information, to say the least, and he verbally articulated his concerns to the forum.
Fleming was his opposite, a soft-spoken man, as was customary for a British gentleman, who kept his thoughts and concerns mostly to himself and let his actions do the talking. He did not trust either of his colleagues, but did not let his feelings interfere with the job at hand and his job was to take care of his country’s interests. He realized the primary threat was to the United States but who was to say what they would uncover. Better to be part of the team than to rely on their good will.
The three met on their own for the first time in Tel Aviv, two months before the operation was launched. A special office was set up in an anonymous building in the heart of the city, near Dizengoff Center. The apartment was fitted with all the latest alarm and security equipment, and guarded around the clock by Shabac operatives who lurked in the surrounding streets. The place was connected to a host of intelligence sources for the latest data from the area of interest, including US satellites, Israeli reconnaissance assets, various listening posts, surveillance data, and the lot. A steady stream of information came from operatives and collaborators inside Lebanon through covert channels assisted by whatever resources existed for the British and the Americans.
Kessler had briefed his two colleagues on the latest intelligence before they began to consider a plan of action and it was he who drew up the skeleton plan using Sam and Devlin’s people to perform the initial track down of Sons of Jihad. It took them nearly two months before they finally agreed on the details and laid the foundation for the operation.
Now it was time for David Kessler to deliver and his plan was floundering.
Aziz was a reliable operative who had been recruited during the Lebanon war of 1982. He had set up an effective network inside Beirut. His team were assisted by intermediaries from the Israeli-backed Southern Lebanon army known as “Tsadal” led by General Lahad. Information was passed south to Israel by an alliance of farmers who backed Tsadal. Kessler’s people would meet them at Marge A’youn, a rather large village placed in a strategic position above the Litani River, marking the northern most line under Israeli control.
Once it began, Kessler had made Marge A’youn h
is headquarters for the duration of the operation and would report to his colleagues in Tel Aviv daily via messengers. There was a delay of at least a day and sometime even two between the time Aziz would send his updates and Kessler would receive them and unless it was an emergency, the directive was never to use electronic or radio means that could be intercepted.
Only once since the operation began did Aziz make his way all the way down south to meet with Kessler. That was when he got his orders and was given the identities of the people involved. He also got paid a healthy sum.
This time it was Aziz who insisted meeting Kessler in person. They met on the banks of the Litani late at night. Kessler was escorted down by a Special Forces unit who spread out and kept watch while the two men met. He briefed him on the raid and the data found in the floppy discs and asked for assistance analyzing the information.
Kessler could not provide answers on the spot. Any one of the three groups mentioned was capable of concocting such a ruthless scheme and all of them had the monies to back it up. What worried him most was that if, indeed, one of these groups were responsible for Sons of Jihad, it would be very tricky for his people to deal with such dangerous organizations especially on their home turf and he realized that both Aziz, his network, Elena, and whoever else he sent over there, were in real danger now that they’d stirred up the hornets’ nest. He was actually quite surprised to learn that none of those groups were associated with Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization, the PLO.
The PLO, he more or less knew how to deal with. These terrorist groups were much more extreme and much more brutal. He also realized that when he reported these findings to his two colleagues, eyebrows would be raised.
He asked Aziz to hang around for a day so he could consult his sources and come back with some useful advice. Then he climbed the laborious trail back to Marge A’youn and was choppered to Tel Aviv where Doug Collins, Harry Fleming, and a team of intelligence experts, warned in advance, were waiting in the apartment for an emergency session.
“We have names of organizations, names of clients, payments, types of armaments and distribution sites,” Kessler announced to the group gathered in front of him. “What we need to figure out to help the team is who to go after.”
There was a low murmur of discussion in the room as people absorbed the information.
“We obviously cannot go after everyone. That’d mean tracking half the terrorist population in Beirut. I need to go back with the best educated guess we can drum up to point our assets in the right direction.”
The murmur in the room grew as people began discussing the information among themselves. Kessler waited patiently. The best and most experienced people from the intelligence community were gathered in the room and he needed to give them time to evaluate the data.
Fleming and Collins approached him.
“Where were these specifics found?” Collins asked, as they cornered him in the small kitchen, speaking in low voices.
“They were downloaded from a computer at a Shiite command post in Beirut three days ago,” Kessler divulged.
“Shall we try and cross-reference the information with our sources?” Collins pressed.
“Be my guest,” Kessler said. “Just do it quickly. We have little time.”
“I’d put my money on Al Qaida. They’re the only group with proper resources and worldwide support to pull off such a feat,” Fleming remarked. “They’re also the only organization we know of who can think up such a scheme.”
“Let’s talk to the experts, then decide if we need more corroboration,” Kessler suggested, moving back into the living-room asking for attention.
After five hours of deliberation, the consensus was to go after Abu Salah. It was risky since any such organization had the means to perform such evil, but Al Qaida were a step above the rest. They had pockets of collaborators everywhere, most notably in the US, something other groups were less known for. Both Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad operated on a Middle East domestic level, while Al Qaida operated globally. That did not mean the three groups would refrain from cooperating amongst themselves, which they probably did, but to find a trail to Sons of Jihad, it seemed Al Qaida was the key.
Fleming and Collins agreed with the analysis and offered to do a quick cross-reference with some of their sources, while Kessler was authorized to relay the instructions to his source.
*****
The Empire State building was an icon among icons in New York City and the world. It regularly amazed Sam as he approached on Ave of the Americas, as the building loomed larger and larger the closer he got to it from the uptown side. It was classic architecture, its columns and shades giving it a permanent thirties look.
On the top floor the view was spectacular, Manhattan Island sprawled in all directions, beyond it the four boroughs, New Jersey, and Long Island. If only he could see Beirut from there, he kept thinking.
The restaurant, seventy-eight floors up, was a favorite meeting place for him and Jack when they wanted privacy away from the daily hassles of the Center.
Black Jack Preston, now almost fully recovered from his ordeals in the desert, and Mike Devlin were there drinking red wine in a corner booth reserved in advance.
It had been roughly four months since their return from the Middle East and they were in the midst of their toughest and most trying venture.
To Sam it seemed things were moving in slow motion and had to gather all his self-control and patience to allow the plan to materialize. He was constantly on edge as he tried to keep a close watch on the events taking place far and away from him.
“Any word from Kessler?” Jack inquired, as Sam took a seat and poured himself a glass.
“They have a lead,” Sam said. “They had a big meeting in Tel Aviv. He’s on his way north and wouldn’t say more on the phone.”
“But it’s a secure line,” Jack protested, gulping his wine down thirstily.
“No line is secure as far as Kessler is concerned,” Sam said. “Besides, we will have the full brief at the consulate tomorrow morning.”
Sam blew out an exasperated sigh and looked around for the waitress. “I can’t take this much longer,” he complained, signaling the waitress over.
“You won’t have to,” Jack commented, trying to appease his troubled friend. “It seems they’re on the right track.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Sam said pouring more wine to all three glasses. “I just wish there was something I could physically do to ease my mind a little.”
The waitress came over and they spent the next five minutes deciding what to eat.
“What’s happening at your end?” Sam asked Devlin, after the waitress left with their orders.
“Lizzy and Jimmy are in Cyprus,” Devlin informed him. “They managed to get a boat. Quite a fast one I might add. They are tending to it and will be ready if we need them. The rest are waiting at the base near Inverness. Ali’s keeping them in shape.”
“Any new intel?”
“Copeland and Long-John managed to intercept some short wave radio chatter inside Beirut but nothing of interest so far.”
“Any satellite action?”
“Just the usual reconnaissance aerial data from the NASA links. The place seems awfully quiet these days except for Israeli fighter jets patrolling over there almost every day now.”
“How does that help us?” Sam sighed, reaching for the wine bottle again.
"They could be photographing the area with their reconnaissance jets and acquiring data that may be of help to us," Devlin remarked.
"Let's hope," Sam sighed again, "anything else?"
“I’ve contacted a friend who can help us with forged passports,” Devlin added.
“That’s good,” Sam said. “How fast can he do the work?”
“Depends on how many we need, but he’s not cheap.”
“Say we need ten. How fast can he do them?”
“It’s roughly two days per passport, three thousand each,”
Devlin stated.
“With that kind of money I can buy real ones on the black market.”
“They are real passports. He only changes the photos.”
“And for that he needs two days each? How good is he?”
“Recommended and cross-referenced by several top people I know.”
“Can we bargain with him? Thirty thousand dollars is mighty steep.”
“It’s thirty thousand pounds,” Devlin corrected him. “He works in the UK.”
“What type of passports do we need?” Jack asked.
“I’d say anything from Eastern Europe will suffice,” Devlin said.
“But won’t we have to know the language?” Sam asked.
“Broken English will do just fine,” Devlin stated. “They don’t normally bother with Eastern Europeans in Lebanon. They do, however, give British and Americans hell.”
“OK, do it,” Sam said. “And don’t forget to get him photos of Lizzy and Jimmy as well.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Devlin said.
“Who are you planning to take, Mike?" Jack inquired.
“I don’t know yet. Depends on how this develops.”
“Fair enough,” Sam said. “I’ll get you passport photos of Mai-Li, Natasha and myself. Jack will run things from here and stay in touch with Kessler.”
“What about Christine? How’s she doing?” Devlin asked.
“Oh, I doubt she’ll be part of this,” Sam said. “She needs a while to recover, just like old Jack here.”
The food arrived and they ate in silence for a while. Sam thought of Elena. He now had two good reasons to worry himself sick over. He had not heard from her since she had called him from Athens before she boarded the plane to Beirut.
It was now eight days.
The only contact they had was through Kessler who would send confidential reports to the Israeli Consulate in New York where Sam would be given time to read them. The same report would be sent to CIA headquarters at Langley and the Israeli Consulate in London where it would be passed on to the British Ministry of Defence.